Terms Used In Florida Statutes > Chapter 671

Account: means any deposit or credit account with a bank, including a demand, time, savings, passbook, share draft, or like account, other than an account evidenced by a certificate of deposit. See Florida Statutes 674.104

Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.

Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.

Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.

Banking day: means the part of a day on which a bank is open to the public for carrying on substantially all of its banking functions. See Florida Statutes 674.104

Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.

Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC

Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. Source: OCC

En banc: In the bench or "full bench." Refers to court sessions with the entire membership of a court participating rather than the usual quorum. U.S. courts of appeals usually sit in panels of three judges, but may expand to a larger number in certain cases. They are then said to be sitting en banc.

Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.

Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent

Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.

Felony: A crime carrying a penalty of more than a year in prison.

Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.

Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC

Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. Source: OCC

Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.

Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.

Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. Source: OCC

Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.

Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.

Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC

Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.

Item: means an instrument or a promise or order to pay money handled by a bank for collection or payment. See Florida Statutes 674.104

Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.

Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC

Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.

Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.

Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC

Probate: Proving a will

Right of survivorship: The ownership rights that result in the acquisition of title to property by reason of having survived other co-owners.

Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.

Statute: A law passed by a legislature.

Tenancy in common: A type of property ownership in which two or more individuals have an undivided interest in property. At the death of one tenant in common, his (her) fractional percentage of ownership in the property passes to the decedent

Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.

Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. Source: OCC

Usury: Charging an illegally high interest rate on a loan. Source: OCC

writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 88.6011